Indians’ longtime press box supervisor gets ‘Popper’ honor

CLEVELAND — John Krepop only informed a select few people that he was calling it a career and moving to Florida. In the days following Game 7 of the World Series, word began to spread that the Indians had just played their final game with the man affectionately known as “Popper” watching from the Progressive Field press box.

It was true to Krepop’s character that he kept his news quiet.

“The press box will never be the same,” said Bob DiBiasio, the Indians’ senior vice president of public affairs. “There’s only one of him and we’re going to miss him terribly. He was part of us. He was such a fixture.”

That is why the Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America has decided to honor Krepop with the creation of the John Krepop Special Achievement Award, which will honor career achievement, or dedication and service to the Indians organization. Nominees will be discussed annually, though the award will not necessarily be given out each year.

Krepop will be the first recipient, following his 44 years working for the Indians as a press box supervisor.

“I’m very touched and very honored,” Krepop said from his new home in Florida. “I appreciate it very much. I had a lot of fun.”

There is no easy way to summarize Krepop’s job description. For every home game, he sat in the second row of the press box, serving as a helpful hand to the public relations team, broadcasters and reporters. With a special love of history, Krepop took joy in hunting down facts and statistics that would find their way into the daily game notes or writers’ stories. That barely scratches the surface of the duties he took on for so many years.

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